Theodore Roosevelt: A Literary Life

Of all the many biographies of Theodore Roosevelt none has presented the twenty-sixth president as he saw himself: as a man of letters. This fascinating account traces Roosevelts lifelong engagement with books and discusses his writing from childhood journals to his final editorial finished just hours before his death. His most famous book The RoughRiders--part memoir part war adventure--barely begins to suggest the dynamism of his literary output. Roosevelt read widely and deeply and worked tirelessly on his writing. Along with speeches essays reviews and letters he wrote history autobiography and tales of exploration and discovery. In this thoroughly original biography Roosevelt is revealed at his most vulnerable--and his most human.